Feeder.



N @884 436. 3 PATENTED APR. 14 1908.

0 as. WARREN.

FEEDER.

APPLIOATI N FILED DE .1 1 8.

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PATBNTED APR. 14, 1908.

2 SHEETS- -SKEET 2.

B. WARREN. FEEDER APPLICATION FILED DEO.1'1, 1906. I

T1 1! IDRRI: p'zrzns 5a., WASHINGTON, n. c,

GEORGE B. WARREN, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

FEEDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 14, 1908.

Application filed December 17, 1906. Serial No. 348,117.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. WARREN, a resident of Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to feeders for hay and the like.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 784,455, granted to me March 7, 1905, there is shown a feed-rack for the same general purpose as the present invention. In practice it has been found to be desirable to so construct the feed-rack that it can be assembled substantially in its entirety, at the factory and thus shipped to the user so it will be unnecessary for the user to employ skilled labor in mounting the rack or making any substantial changes in the barn or shed in which the rack is to be applied.

Certain other features have also been found to be desirable and the present invention designs to provide an improved feed-rack embodying features which have been found to be desirable in practice.

One object of the invention is to provide a feed-rack which is substantially complete in itself, which is done by providing the rack with a back adapted to be secured in position on the wall of the barn or shed and whereby the rack will be sustained.

The invention further designs to dispense with the use of weights for operating the rack because it has been found desirable to avoid the necessity of providing spaces or run-ways for movable weights and because some skill is necessary in attaching the weight guides in order to mount them properly.

The invention still further designs to provide a rack which can, when desired, be applied in front of a window or opening in the stall in the wall of the barn without excluding light and air.

The invention still further designs to provide an improved simple operating-device for the rack to hold the rack into position to receive a charge of hay and which can also be operated to release the rack so it will move into position to hold the hay.

The invention further designs to provide an improved construction for feed-racks.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claim at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective of a feed-rack mounted in position in a stall and embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view of a portion of the rack showing the construction thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the hinge-connection between the back and the movable rack and the spring for pressing the latter towards the back. Fig. 4 is a front view of the same. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of one of the hinge-brackets Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the rope-guide and holder. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a portion of the back, and Fig.

8 is a view showing the rack in side elevation and the manner of guiding the operatingrope when it is desired to operate the rack from a loft above the stall.

The im roved device comprises a back 15 and a rac 22 pivoted thereto. The back is preferably formed of a frame comprising a top-bar 16, side-bars 17, a lower cross-bar 18 and a central bar 19 all of which are rigidly secured together and usually formed of wood. The back also has a wire netting 20 extending over the front thereof. By providing a back it is possible to mount the rack conveniently at any place desired, and if desired, the rack may be placed in front of a window or air opening, such as is frequently provided in a stall. In many instances it is desirable to mount the rack on the up-rights or studs when the barn is not provided with an inner lining or wall. By providing a back of the construction described, the frame may be conveniently secured to the studs and the netting or perforate portion of the back prevents the hay from passing into the spaces between the up-rights but allows the chaff and dust to fall therethrough. vFurthermore, the perforate construction of the back makes it possible to ventilate the stall when a window is provided in the stall because it permits light and air to pass therethrough, more particularly when the rack is empty. It also provides a construction which can be substantially assembled at the factory so that in mounting the rack it is only necessary to fipcure the back in the desired place in the sta Rack 22 is pivotally connected to the back and serves to hold the feedingmaterial. This rack is formed of side-rails 23, a bottomrail 24 and a top-rail 25, all of preferably angle-iron. The several rails are connected at their corners by plates 26 to which they are respectively riveted. Orimped wires 27 side-rail of the back.

extend longitudinally and vertically between" the rails of the frame to leave openings through which the animal can gradually pull out hay or other material and serve to compress and hold the hay. The purpose of the rackis to hold the material so tightly that it can only be slowly withdrawn by the animal for consumption and so there will be no loose material likely to be scattered around the stall. The ends of crimped wires 27 are secured to the rails of the rack by extending them through the perforated flanges of the angle-iron rails.

The pivotal connection for the lower end of the rack comprises coil-springs 29, one end of which extends upwardly as at 30 through a perforation in the horizontal flange of the bottom rail 24, and through a perforation in theside-rail as at 31, the end of the spring being bent as at 32 to secure the end to the frame. A bolt or pin 33 extends through the coil of spring 29 and is mounted in forwardly pro ecting ears 34 of a bracket 35 which has its upper end secured to rail 18 of back 15 by a bolt 35 and its lower end secured by bolt 30 to the lower end of the The other end 33 of each coil-spring 2-9 is extended to engage the bracket 35. The coil of each spring is held between bracket-ears 34 and thereby the s rings and rack are secured against endwise p ay. These springs continuously exert pressure to press the rack 22 into position to compress any hay or other material. in back thereof and move the rack toward back 15. By using springs for performing this function it is possible to more completely assemble i the device at the factory and to avoid the use of weights and the necessity of providing ways or guides for the weights which are likely to become disarranged or inoperative in practice. These springs are applied to exert greater pressure against the rack which holds the hay when there is a full charge of hay in the rack at which time it is desirable to have greater pressure to prevent the hay from being too easily withdrawn. That is, greater pressure is necessary to pack the hay when a full charge is in the rack and less when there is a smaller quantity therein. The springs are applied so they will graduall decrease the pressure of the rack against the hay as the feed is withdrawn by the animal, thus rendering the rack much more efficient in use than when weights are used, which causethe rack to exert the same ressure against the hay at all times. The oWer or pivot end of the rack is preferably located a short distance away from the back of the rack by extending the brackets for the pivotal connection for the rack forward and resultantly dust and chaff can fall between the back and the rack instead of being Withdrawn with the hay by the animal and scattered around the stall.

In practice it has been found desirable to provide means at the end of the rack for preventing the hay from being withdrawn at the ends and for this purpose flexible holders or "guards such as chains 37 have their ends respectively connected to the back and the rack. These chains also limit the forward movement of the rack.

In Fig. 1 the rack is shown as mounted on the back wall of-a stall and an opening 38 is provided in the ceiling of the stall through which hay can be fed into the rack from the loft above. In order to temporarily hold the rack in open position, a cable or rope or suitable flexible element 39 is connected to the rack as at 40 and is extended around sheaves 41 and 42 which may be secured wherever desired. The free end of the cable 39 is usuallyprovided with'a ring '43 which serves as a handle and weight for the free end of the cable. The cable is held in a bracket 44 which is rovided with a hole 45 for a screw for attac ring the bracket to any convenient oint and an enlarged opening 46 through which the rope asses. This opening is large enough to'al ow an abutment or stop 47 on'the rope to pass therethrough and a notch or slot 48 is provided which is insuflicient in size to allow the stop to pass therethrough and so the stop can serve to secure the rope to hold the rack in position to receive a charge of hay or other material. In operating the rack to hold it in position to receive a charge it is only necessary to pull the rope and move it over into notch 48 so the stop 47 will prevent the rack from moving toward the back, and to release the rack it is only necessary to release the rope.

In Fig. 8 the cable for operating the rack into position to receive the charge of hay is shown as extending into the loft above the stall so the rack can be operated entirely from the loft. When it is desired to charge the rack, the operator can pull the cable 39 into position so stop 47 thereon will engage the bracket 44 and when the rack has been charged it can be rendered operative to compress the charge by releasing the cable. Thus it will be seen that by this holding-'means it is possible'to operate the rack to hold it in open position and to release it by the same means.

The invention possesses several important advantages. The several parts thereof-can be assembled at the factory so the rack can be conveniently mounted in the stall. The perforate back allows the dust and chaff to pass therethrough and also permits light and air to do likewise. The flexible end-guards make it impossible for the animal to Wltl1- draw the material in excessive quantities at the ends of the rack. The springs for the movable rack exert varying pressure on the rack according to the quantit of hay or other material therein, to at al times pack 7 Patent, is:

The mvention is not to be understood as;

restricted to the precise details shown and described since these may be modified with out departing from the spirit and scope of the invention Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 1. In a feeder, the combination with a perforate back adapted to be secured to a Wall, a rack pivotally connected to said back, and means operating automatically to move the rack towards said back to pack the material between the back and the rack.

2. In a feeder, the combination of a back adapted to be secured to a wall and formed of a frame and wire netting, a rack pivotally connected to the back, and means operating automatically to move the rack toward said back to pack the material between the back and the rack.

3. In a feeder, the combination of a perforate back adapted to be secured to a wall, a rack pivotally connected to said back,

means for causing the rack to move towards the back to hold the feeding material therebetween, and means for temporarily holding the rack in position to receive a charge of material.

4. In a feeder, the combination of a rack, means for pivotally supporting said rack comprising a pair of brackets and springs interposed between said brackets and the rack, for pressing the rack into position to pack the feeding-material.

5. In a feeder, the combination of a back adapted to be secured to a wall, a rack, and means for pivotally su porting said rack comprising a pair of brac iets secured to said back, and springs interposed between said brackets and the rack for pressing the rack into position to pack the feeding-material.

6. In a feeder, the combination of a rack,

means for pivotally supporting said rack comprising a pair of brackets, springs interposed between said brackets and the rack for pressing the rack into position to hold the feeding-material, each of said springs having one of its terminals rigidly secured to the rack to support the same, and bolts extending through said springs.

GEORGE B. WVARREN. Witnesses:

R. R. SHIRLEY, E. D. REYNOLDS. 

